the individual are upheld without regard to the fact that each human being is of a social contacts, in and h his or her rights duties are bound with those of the others, and those of the common good of the societies themselves. so i so i think it is vital to develop today a culture of human rights which intelligently links or, rather,al -- the personal dimension to the dimension of the common good, the dimension of the all of us made up of individuals and families and intermediate groups who together constitute society. unless the rights of each individual are harmoniously woven into the greater good, they will become a source of conflict and of violence.

to speak of human dignity means appealing to human nature, and to that compass deep within our hearts which god has impressed upon all creation. above all, it means regarding human beings not as absolutes .ut as beings in relation one of the most common diseases in europe, if you ask me today, -- theloneliness loneliness of those who have no .onnection with others this is especially true of the old and in the young, who lack their points of reference and opportunities for the future.

poor also seen in the many who live in our cities and the lost gaze of the migrants who have come here seeking a better future. this loneliness has been made worse by the economic crisis, so it's effects continue, they will have tragic consequences on society. it can be seen, that as the european union has expanded, there has been a growing mistrust on the part of institutionsrd which they regard as aloof, engaged in laying down rules which they perceive as insensitive to individual people's concerns, if not actually harmful. in many quarters, we gain a general impression of weariness, asaging, of a europe

grandmother, no longer fertile and lively. as a result, the great ideas which once inspired europe seem to have lost their power of attraction and been replaced by the bureaucratic technicalities of europe's institutions. this, cometh certain, rather selfish lifestyles marked by an opulence, which is no longer sustainable. [applause] and which is frequently indifferent to the world around .s, especially to the poorest to our dismay, we see technical fomentingic questions

political debate, to the detriment of any genuine concern for human beings. the human being risks being reduced to a mere called in a machine that treats them as items of consumption to be that,ted with the result as is so tragically apparent, whenever a human life no longer proves useful to the machine, it qualms, asd with few in the case of the terminally ill, the old who are abandoned and uncared for, and the children who are killed before they are born. [applause] this is the great mistake that happens when technology is .llowed to take over

the result is a confusion between ends and means. it is the inevitable consequence of a throwaway culture and of uncontrolled consumerism. if, on the other hand, we uphold the dignity of the person, that means we are acknowledging the , which isuman life freely given us, and hence cannot be an object of trade or commerce. you as members of parliament are which to a great mission may at times seem an impossible one -- to tend to the needs and the fragility's of individuals tend to those to .n need that takes strength, effort,

generosity in the midst of a functionalist take and private mindset, which inexorably leads .o this throwaway culture to care for individuals and people in need means protecting memory and hope. it means taking responsibility for the persons with situations of marginalization and anguish, and it means the incapable of bestowing dignity upon that. so how can hope the restored in the future? with theeginning younger generations, there can of that confidence that is needed to pursue the a united andf peaceful europe, a creative and resourceful europe, one that is respectful of rights and conscious of its duties? , i'mswer that question

going to use an image, one of the most famous frescoes by rafael in the vatican depicts a circle school of athens. in the center are plato and aristotle. plato us figure is pointed upward to the world of ideas, to the sky, to heaven one might say finger.'s aristotle holds his hand out in front of him towards the viewer, towards the world, towards concrete reality. think it's a very apt image of europe and europe's history, made up of the constant interplay, as it is, between heaven and earth where heaven indicates openness to the transcendent, to god, which is always -- which has always distinguished the people of yet, represents

europe's practical, concrete ability to face situations and problems. the future of europe depends on the recovery of the vital connections, the inseparable connection between these elements. which is no longer open to the transcendent dimension of riskss a europe which slowly losing its own soul and that humanistic spirit which it .et loves and defends taken as a starting point, this opening to the transcendent, i would like to reaffirm the centrality of the human person, the mercyrwise is at of the fashions and powers of the moment. i consider fundamental not only the legacy that christianity has offered in the past to the social and cultural formation of

the continent, but also and above all, the contribution which christianity has to offer today and in the future to europe's growth. that contribution does not represent a threat to the or to the of states independence of the institutions of the union, but rather an enrichment to them. this is clear from the ideals which shape europe from the beginning such as peace, subsidiarity, and reciprocal solidarity. and a humanism based on respect for the dignity of the human person, so i should like to the readiness of the holy see and the catholic church through the commission of the bishop us conferences of europe to engage in a meaningful, open, withransparent dialogue the institutions of the european union.

i am likewise convinced that a europe which is capable of appreciating its religious roots and of grasping their fruitfulness and their potential will be all the more able to resist the many forms of which are spreading in today's world, not least as a result of the great vacuum of ideals, which we are currently seeing in the west. seems it is precisely man's forgetfulness of god and his failure to give him glory which gives rise to violence. [applause] i cannot fail to recall of this connection the many instances of injustice and persecution was a daily affect religious minorities, particularly christians, in various parts of the world. communities and individuals are

today subjected to barbaric acts of violence. they are driven away from their homes and native lands, sold as slaves, killed, beheaded, amidfied, or burned alive the shameful and complicit silence of many. [applause] the motto of the european union --"united endeavor city, unityd in diversity," but does not mean uniformity of political and cultural life or in ways of thinking. in point of fact, all real unity draws from the rich diversities which make it up, and in a sense

, it is like a family. it grows more united win each of its members is free to be fully himself or herself without fear. i consider europe as a family of people who wilson's the closeness of the institutions of theseion while institutions are able wisely to combine the desired ideal of unity

cherishing particular traditions , acknowledging past history and its roots, liberated from the many manipulations and the many phobias, affirming the centrality of the human person means above all allowing that person to express freely their individuality and creativity, both as individuals and as people's. at the same time, the specific features of each person represents an authentic richness to the degree that they are placed at the service of all. rememberedeeds to be that the proper configuration of the european union is based on the principles of solidarity and subsidiarity, so that mutual assistance can prevail and progress can be made on the basis of mutual trust. within this dynamic of unity and particularity, you, ladies and gentlemen of the european parliament, bear the of keepingity democracy a live for the peoples .f europe it's no secret that a conception of unity seen as uniformity

strikes at the totality of the democratic system, weakening the rich, fruitful construction of interplay of organizations and political parties. risk of livinghe in a world of ideas, of mere words, of images, of silver try and toof sophis end up confusing democracy with a new political nominees him. keeping democracy alive in europe requires that we avoid the many globalizing trends that dilute reality. angelic pure is him, dictatorial relativism, ethical systems with no kindness, and intellectualism with no wisdom. keeping democracies alive is a challenge at this historic moment.

the true strength of our democracies and of expressions of political will of the people must not be allowed to collapse under the pressure of multinational interests which are not universal, which weaken them and turn them into uniform systems of economic power at the service of unseen empires. this is one of the challenges which history places you before today. means moreope hope than simply acknowledging the centrality of the human person. it also implies nurturing the gift of each man and woman. it means investing in individuals, and in those settings in which their talents are shaped and flourish.

beginning with the family come the fundamental cell and most precious element. the family united possesses the -- ents [applause] elements which are fundamental for fostering hope in the future. without this solid basis, the future ends up being built on sand with dire social consequences. stressing the importance of the family should mean not only helping to give direction and hope to new generations but also , who oftenthe old have to live alone and abandoned because there is no longer the warmth of a family home that can accompany and support them.

outside the family, there are the various educational institutes -- schools and .niversities education cannot be limited to providing technical expertise alone. it should encourage the more complex process of assisting the human person to grow in his or her totality. young people today are looking education which can enable them to look to the future with hope rather than disenchantment. so much creative potential in europe and the various fields of scientific research, some of which are yet to be fully explored. we need only think, for example, of alternative sources of energy, the development of which will greatly assist the protection of the environment.

europe has always been in the vanguard of efforts to promote ecology. constant concern and care and attention are needed. each of us has a personal responsibility to care for this creation, this precious gift which god has entrusted us. hand,eans, on the one that nature is at our disposal to enjoy and to use properly. but it also means that we are not its masters. we are stewards, but not masters. we need to love and to respect , we arebut instead often guided by pride of

domination, of possession, of manipulation, and of exploitation. we don't preserve the earth. we don't respect it. we don't consider it as a freely given gift that we should be .ooking after respect for the environment, however, means not just not discarding it. it also means using it for the all ofd thinking above agriculture, which provides sustenance and nourishment to the human family. it is intolerable that millions of people around the world are tons of hunger while food each day are thrown away from our tables. [applause] respect for nature also means recognizing that man himself is , fundamental part of nature

along with the environmental ecology, there is also a need for a human ecology consisting in respect for the person, and that is what i have tried to evoke in addressing you today. the second area in which people's talents flourish is that of work. it's time to promote policies which create employment and, above all, there's a need now to restore dignity to work by ensuring proper working conditions. this implies -- [applause] this implies on the one hand finding new ways of combining market flexibility and the need

for the stability and security of workers that are indispensable for their human development. a suitablelies not to theext geared exploitation of persons, but to insuring through labor that they can create a family and bring up their children. equally, there needs to be a united response to the question of migration. we cannot allow the mediterranean to become a vast graveyard. [applause] the boats landing daily on europe's shores are filled with murdered women who need .ssistance and acceptance

the absence of mutual support within the european union runs the risk of encouraging particular mystic solutions -- solutions toic this problem, solutions which do not take into account the human dignity of the migrants and, thus, contribute to slave labor and continuing social tensions. europe will be able to confront the problems associated with immigration only if it is capable of clearly asserting its own cultural identity and enacting proper legislation that same time thee rights of european citizens and ensures the acceptance of isigrants, only if it capable of adopting fair, courageous, and realistic policies, which can assist the countries of origin and their own social and political efforts to and their resolve internal conflicts, the

principal cause of this phenomenon, rather than adopting policies motivated by self interest, which increase and feed such conflicts. we need to act on the causes and not only on the effects. [applause] mr. president, your excellency's, awareness of one's own identity is also necessary for a positive dialogue to occur askedhe states which have to be part of the union in the future. i think especially of those in , for which membership of the european union could be a response to their desire for peace in a region which has greatly suffered from .onflict in the past awareness of one's own identity

forlso indispensable relations with other neighboring countries, particularly with those bordering the mediterranean, many of which are suffering from internal conflicts, from the pressure of religious fundamentalism, and from that of global terrorism. you, as legislators, have the task to protect and nurture so that itsntity citizens can experience renewed confidence in the institutions of the union and in its project of peace and friendship that underlies that. knowing that the more the power of men and women increases, the greater is their individual and collective responsibility, i encourage you to work so that ofope rediscovers the best

itself. christians are to the world what the soul is to the body. the function of the soul is to support the body, to be its conscience and its historical two thousand year-old history links europe and christianity. it is a history not without , but oneand error constantly driven by the desire to work for the good of all. we see this in the beauty of our cities and even more in the beauty of the many works of charity and constructive cooperation throughout this continent. this is a history in large part still to be written. is our present and also our

future. it's our identity. europe urgently needs to recover its true features in order to grow as its founders intended, in peace and harmony. itself, andan be since it is not yet free of conflicts. members of the european parliament, the time has come to work together to build a europe, a europe which revolves not around the economy, but around the sacred nature of the human person. [applause] around in alienable -- [applause] europe whicha courageously embraces its past and confidently looks to its future in order fully to experience the hope of its presence. the time has come for us to inndon the idea of europe

order to revive and encourage a europe of leadership, a repository of science, art, music, human values, and faith, a europe which looks to the heavens and pursues ideals, a europe which cares for, which defends, and which protect every man, woman. a europe which moves on safe precious point of reference for all humanity. thank you. [applause]

[captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2014] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org]

>> thank you very much for the -- thank you very much, ladies and human. i think you're applause illustrates that pope francis has reached many, perhaps all, of us -- your applause illustrates. i would like to thank him for his speech, for this great in courage -- encouragement he has given us. i think what you have said encourages us on a path that the european union, the european community has been on, and it's a path that leads to a good future if we hold together, and you gave us some good signposts on that path, and i would like to thank you on behalf of the entire european parliament and repeat what i said at the outset

you are a person who gives guidance and a time where and we lost our compass, are internally grateful that you have come here and have spoken .o us thank you, colleagues, for attending and for a plotting his hisness -- applauding holiness. i think that we have many jobs in common, and if we heed the words of pope francis, that would be good. thank you very much. [applause]

tapped policybama wonk ashton carter to run the defense department today. president called him one of the most -- one of the nation's foremost national security leaders. it is expected he will easily be confirmed by the senate. those hearings expected to begin early next year.

you can see that nomination announcement on our website. go to www.c-span.org. on facebook today, paul kelly writes that we are considering a walk to run the most and this from jim -- too, and can weigh in, offer your comments at facebook.com/c-span, or send us a tweet at #cspanchat. ashton carter has served as deputy defense secretary from 2011 to 2013. he taught at harvard and has degrees in physics from yale and oxford. he has also written a number of books on missile defense and national security. >> and content, who recently retired as abc news white house her over 40t, on

years covering the white house and administrations of gerald ford through barack obama. listenat and watched him to second graders go through their drill, and he interrupted the president, and i was stunned. he whispered, "nobody interrupts the president, even in front of second graders." the president stood and said he had to go. then we heard, we discovered, that it was two planes down. crashes in new york. ari fleischer came out to the pool. the parking lot outside the school, and since they read here, the president will talk to the pool. there are live cameras in the cafeteria. the president has to speak there. he did not want to scare the children, but he did go into the cafeteria to say it is an apparent terrorist attack and he must return to washington. we raced to the plane, pushed aboard quickly, the door slammed, and in the pentagon was

hit. >> sunday night at 8:00 eastern and pacific on c-span's "q&a." >> today's white house briefing is set to start in about 25 minutes. we expect questions on the presidency defense secretary nominee and the labor department report. life coverage starts at 1:00 p.m. eastern here on c-span. until then, discussion on the administration's efforts at reforming policing around the nation from today's "washington journal." host: is richard beary, president of the international association of chiefs of police. he previously served for many years as a police chief. chief of police for lake mary, florida. started with the police department. is there a disconnect between the public and police today? guest: it depends on the community.

we see some parts of the country that have incredible long-term community relations between law enforcement and the public in some areas that don't. community relations between law enforcement and the public in some areas that don't. we try to cast it with a broad net. improvement? absolutely. there are a lot of communities that have those good relationships and need to continue working on this in advance and forge ahead. host: what is one of those communities? why are they successful? some are in pilot programs for community oriented policing services. there are so many large and small community's across the that have been doing a great job with community policing for many years. unfortunately, in this law enforcement world, sometimes one or two major incidents tend to and everybody

thinks that is the way it is across the country. each individual community needs to look at what their goal is from their law enforcement agency and help guide that. host: when you talk about community policing, what does that entail? guest: it's a philosophy that has to be adopted i law enforcement agency and by the government the agency works for. if it does not support the community function, they are not going to have the funding they need to do those jobs. what happened over the last 10 years is we have seen budget .hrinks - law enforcement has gotten into this call to call. when those things happen, here we are today. the other thing that happens --

a commitment of the city council and county government, whichever type of organization is in place , the first thing that gets cut when budget funds become scarce is training. train, train, train. i absolutely agree. sometimes, the perception is training is fluff money and is the first thing that gets cut. it's a dangerous situation to cut training for law enforcement. host: should cops want to be outside of their cars? guest: in a perfect world, absolutely. andends to get guided steered by scientific studies. there was some studies that showed we could reduce the cost and respond better if we put them in cars. law enforcement listened and we did that. here we are 40 years later rethinking that position.

it costs money. , videotape ofary ner, when you see those videos, what is your visceral reaction? guest: anytime someone loses their life, that is the first thing that jumped out at you. it does not matter how long you have been in this business. it has an effect on you and you don't want to see it. rightare a lot of issues now about videotaping. i support videotaping. 98% of the time, cops do a great job of doing the job they do under difficult circumstances. i support these videos. the challenge with video is it is after-the-fact. we will have a nice record of it. how about we train in advance and give the skills and tools and equipment they need to keep

from getting to that bad situation? there is a balance. we need to focus on providing those things cops need. host: let's get our viewers involved. richard beary is our guest. sean is calling in from lakeland, florida. near your home area. caller: the morning to you. -- good morning to you. is, the system itself, in my opinion, is broken. people have no trust in the system. it's about perception. a caller said people don't perceive things in a certain way. you have your point of view with how you look at things. the thing nobody looks at is why are people having these

interactions with police? police people in the community where everything is good, people have jobs. that is the real problem here. this guy got killed because he was trying to get money. nobody wants to be a criminal. you have an extent of people who love crime or get the thrill. point, everybody involved in these crimes are trying to get money. if these people had jobs or felt like they could go out and work and make $40,000 a year and not have to worry about scratching and grinding to find something to eat, they would not have to go out and sell loose cigarettes to make extra money. host: sean in lakeland, florida. chief beary? guest: i appreciate those comments.

all of the focus tends to be a law enforcement. law enforcement is just one piece of the system. on behalf of the international association of chief of police, we have been asking for many years to do a complete overview of the criminal justice system. there are a lot of other family services and pieces of the system that need to be addressed. economy,t is about the about jobs, about opportunity. the law enforcement officer is the most visible form of government. we tend to be the one to draw the attention. it's a systemwide problem and i agree with those comments. mentioned the perception issue. this summer, a study came out usa today. think police departments don't do a good job

in holding officers accountable 2-1. guest: that is locale to locale. one thing about local government and local law enforcement, that agency works for the community. i have been on several panels and i say this. if you are unhappy with the police service you have, you have a government that hires and fires the chief of police. if you don't like the service they give, get another chief. when you are a local police chief, twice a month, you are up to be hired or fired. if you don't like it, change it. i firmly believe that. host: from brenda in tallahassee. see a sheriffer i , i stop and say thank you for your service. i appreciate you. everybody should do that.

they are feeling so unappreciated right now. i hear a lot of black people saying the problem is there is not enough black cops. there are too many white cops and not enough like cops. not enough black cops. why don't they put the black cops in the black areas and put the white cops in the white areas? try --well, we always your demographics should be representative of your community. that is a lofty goal. people through the hiring process is not as easy as we hope for. hirehought of trying to and recruiting in the demographics in your location is a goal that every agency should aspire to.

we do believe that. thank you for the thank you part. deputy both young sheriffs and it's a difficult time for them. they go out there every day and do their job. they made a choice to come to law-enforcement to make a difference. a thank you every now and then goes a long way. host: is there a disconnect on the racial lines between african-americans and police? guest: in some areas, yes. cast the bigto net, but in some areas, there are. the men and women of law enforcement come in a variety of different colors and shapes engenders. .- and genders the more we can be representative of archimedes, the better we will be.

, the our communities better we will be. part of the challenge is with the negativity towards police, if you were a 21-year-old, whether you want to get into law enforcement -- will you want to get into law enforcement? the public has to help us. help us bring this people in. i'm not sure if i was a 22-year-old college graduate be a police want to officer for $40,000 year with the negativity we get. host: independent line. caller: good morning. the first caller made an important point. we have a terrorism plan here in new york called see something say something. if i see something, i'm not calling the cops so they can come to the scene and jump out

of cars with guns drawn and shoot the first round person they see. see.rst round person they when the judges says can anybody not serve in good conscience, i will stand up and put both hands in the air. don't come here as tourists or bring your tourist dollars here. host: barbara, have you always recents opinion or is it events? she's gone, sorry about that. see something, say something, and don't come because we are a violent nation. also well, it is interesting, i have been in law enforcement 37 years and our changed dramatically over those 37 years which is one reason our association wanted to this commission going 20 years ago. not i started we were responsible for terrorism, now

we are terrorism and hazmat and crime experts and mental health expertsment we are supposed to be experts in a lot thingsed a somewhere in there is law enforcement. unfortunately those messages get blurred. but see something, say something does work. issue.a perception but quite frankly back to what we are talking about without the trust an calls we cannot -- and calls we cannot be effective. time for a difficult law enforcement because the challenges we face and we have just es don't meet the staff levels we have. tip city, ohio. democrat. aller: when it comes to prosecuting or investigating jury officers, the grand system doesn't work. i know prosecutors like it they can control it, but

that is the problem. police officers that dealt with that guy, how many their belt?on was there an alternative to choking him? and as far as money for police officers, take all that military , cashent they are getting in and put it in training programs. a couple will look at of those things. the grand jury system when you are in law enforcement you off the bat you don't make the laws, you just enforce them. a different want system those are legislative issues. we deal within the framework that is established for us. i don't know if they had tasers there. i can't answer that question. usewe certainly endorse the leth -- anyny unanimous

non leth onlethal thing we use but sometimes bad things happen with them because of health conditions. astly, the military decision piece, in the meeting with president obama the other day we and 96% of cussion the military equipment that goes to law enforcement has nothing with m-raps and bearcats. supplies em are radio and things that keep them running. but there are positives that ome out of the things we learn from the military and one of my roll out year is trauma kits. we save lives using trauma kits a military issue piece of equipment and we are saving victims, traffic crash victims. we tend to be leaders in trying and do good things

for the community and sometimes unfortunately bad things happen. we will continue to do the jobs we are sworn to do. chief beary, do local police departments need those tanks or the automatic weapons that some police received?s have guest: let's start with the weapons. very the things that i'm familiar with is the threat of active shooters. experience at the university of central florida we had a situation with a shooter campus. at florida state university a couple of weeks ago they had a situation. with the situation in america with gun violence unfortunately the law officers need those weapons to be able to address that threat. imagine what only a community would say if five to eight, 10 -- you pick the number of people died because the officers didn't have the weapons they needed to stop that situation. then we would be criticized with

knowing the equipment you need and it is available how could not have that available. there is a fine line. heavy military equipment, i think that again goes back to local government. if the government entity, if the mayor and city commission think a need they should probably have it. i watched the situation unfold first thing i he noticed is the armor ed vehicle to try to get the hostages out. there is a difference between an vehicle with a weapon and arm armored vehicle that doesn't have a weapon on it to get out same and insert the officers to stop the threat. act. a balancing but i throw it right back to local government. you get what you accept. if you want changes and really the majority of law enforcement the united states is done on a local level. voice.volved and have a

host: you mentioned meeting with serve on the you 21st century policing task force up. president set haughton, hn from louisiana, republican line. in a parish which is a county to most people and the a good point, n the involvement of what i call the ballot box. ferguson it was something like 7% of the blacks voted. vote for.at you i'm glad i live in a parish because unlike a police chief we vote on our sheriff and we have been very fortunate in last 30-some years we have sheriffs.three if they don't do a good job we vote them out. been watching the video of the incident with the black lucies.ing the he would like to see that from

the very, very start. borro because i seriously doubt if all hose police officers showed up exactly at one time and started as i ebody called in understand and officers responded and it seems like here are three officers in there dressed differently than all the rest. is like nds like it walking into the movie in the iddle and i would like to see the video from when the ndividuals on the street violating the law and the police officers didn't write the law, in the e legislature state of new york wrote that law. force, want a police whether municipal or sheriff's department deciding, well, going tot a law we are enforce. i want them to enforce the laws on the books. like the law on the book i will get involved with my it off the and get

books. guest: i think that john is money.n the you get what you get. if you don't get involved in the process, then you are going to have to accept the style of law enforcement that is you. to so, i think those are very accurate. withther interesting thing video we deal with this. limited air time media stations have they will show 15 that is f a situation 20 minutes. as a police chief you have to offset that and explain how those things happen. but it is a communication piece, too, and not being afraid to get on there and put it out there say here is the whole story. host: can you share an experience you had while serving where you had to pull your weapon and felt threatened, et cetera? actually numerous times. anything from armed robbers, burglars, there

are high risk situations every ay that law enforcement responds to. the other thing worth noting when you think of the millions contacts that happen every law enforcement officers and citizens the use of low whether very you consider the entire picture. i think that needs to be pointed out. those cases again that we've seen in the last several months draw the headlines. the vast majority of law nforcement and citizens contacts result in no use of force. host: i'm sure you have hard the phrase driving while black. harris called in from michigan going he would be stopped home from his job at 1:00 or :00 in the morning simply in his view because he was black. something rfplt police officers discuss? >> as agency heads yes, we do. states it and other is mandatory training we call

legal traffic stops because we believe and i certainly believe that there based solely tops on any race, gender or other situations. so, one of the things we see sometimes is people assume they because you become it, because i'm black, i'm young. no, you didn't ave your seat belt on, you are speeding. but racial profiling as far as i'm concerned and most law is ement executives unacceptable. that is plain and simple the way it has to be. host: richard beary is president he interal association of chiefs of police. danielle is on the line. make a commentto the swaeuituation -- i understd

you were saying about the video that other gentleman the clothingard to of the officers. but even if this gentleman was those cigarettes, how to the y are not going tores where they sell the cigarett cigarettes? guest: well, again, i was not there. i don't run the new york city department. unfortunately sometimes law enforcement -- we don't pick the want. we when we get told this is a problem and we need to address obligated to go out this and address it. aain i don't know if that was planned mission or how that went about. ometimes enforcing law is challenging because policy makers decide what our we rities need to be and have a duty and obligation to respond. a t: chief, this is maybe little out of your bailiwick but

e read an editorial earlier this morning that the prosecutors and police are too cozy. it is too that the grand jury system maybe needs to be opened up. those have thoughts on issues? guest: well, about the coziness most prosecutors i dealt with continued to stay at arm's length. a separate world. we send them the cases, they look at the cases and make charging decisions. of them are highly educated, all attorneys. nd what i have seen them to be is very conservative in looking at the facts and making sure hey have a good case before they go forward. that is a generalization. jury system has been around a long time that. will be a state legislature to change. the question is really do people feel like the system is being and that is the underlying

question. that might be the law enforcement, we have a part of that and some of the prosecutors open and put it out there. i think that will help solve some problems. change the to legislature procedure that has to be done through the state legislature. host: tim is a police officer in virginia., chantilly, you are on with richard beary. caller: good morning, chief. you referenced the young fficers not wanting to come on and become a police officer. i continued to disagree with that. the public s that has this perception of how it is because olice officer f the fact that chiefs on down don't hold police officers accountable. i agree that we as law officers do a great job, the majority of us. may be 1% or 2% that

don't get held accountable for that is like the one rotten apple spoils the whole bunch. to ar as like it is amazing

sometimes that becomes as a law enforcement executive, very challenging with labor unions and some of the court decisions out there. day, i agree,the if you don't measure up, you should be gone. we should hold people accountable. chief berry is a member of the 21st-century police task .orce task force is part of the former d.c. police chief, charles ramsey. what is your primary goal with this task force? morning, my goal is to

present to the president actionable recommendations as to how we can have an impact and change perception and reality of .olicing in the united states build stronger relationships, take a deep dive into our training, policies that need to be in place and so forth. we have 90 days, which is not a whole lot of time, but i think we can come up with some solid recommendations for the president and it probably will require more work afterwards because the easy part is writing the recommendation. the hard part is implementing something. i'm confident we will be able to have something on his desk within the timeframe he would like to see it. what is a policy change that you have made up their? of deadly force.

for example, firing at automobiles, which a lot of department had banned for years. in philadelphia we have not done that. we certainly put that in place. that is one that comes to mind immediately as it comes to use of force. we also made revisions in our training, i started something in 1998 when i was the chief in washington, d.c., working along with the u.s. holocaust memorial to help officers better understand their role in the democratic society. we send recruits through that training here in philadelphia, we have a philanthropist here who have supported us in that endeavor. i think it does an awful lot toward helping police officers better understand the unique role they have in our society. richard beary is on the

set with me. i asked him this question. when you view the video what happened to eric garner, what happened to tamir rice in cleveland, what is your reaction as a police officer? >> first of all, when i saw the video of the garner situation, it's obviously troubling. i don't know all the information presented to the grand jury. they obviously had access to more than i did by watching a clip on television. certainly it is troubling, especially when you consider a relatively minor offense in the first place. things people have to realize is taking people into custody that do not want to go into custody is not a pretty sight if you see it on tape. you need to know all the facts and circumstances surrounding it. when i saw the cleveland

situation, cursing the cross my mind was poor tactics. they pulled up her right on the isson, the young man, which something that basic training will tell you not to do. you have no time to take cover, to react, to give command or give anything. that was just not a good situation in terms of the tactics used. it started off on a very bad footing. host: when can we expect to hear an initial report from the task force? >> 90 days is what the president gave us. we will present to the president within that timeframe and then it's up to the white house to determine when they -- if they will release anything publicly. i am sure they will, but that is their decision and not mine. >> you have been a police officer for a long time. have you changed your mind, your

view on policing over the years? >> sure. 1968.ted my career in a lot has happened since 1968. this whole notion of community policing, no one talked about that in the 1960's or 1970's. police thought they could do it all. if you have a problem, we will hire more cops and we will take care of it. the community was just the eyes and years. that even predates 911. it has changed a great deal. both in terms of the profession, and me personally, coming to have a better understanding, deeper understanding of what it means to be a police officer and that our responsibility includes protecting the constitutional rights of people. that in say that i felt 1968, but i certainly do now, and i have for some time.

we all evolve and change and grow. chief ofrles ramsey, police in philadelphia and cochair of the 21st-century policing task force, thank you for your time. anything you want to respond to? if there is anybody that knows a lot about law enforcement it is chuck ramsey. we are happy to have him as a cochair because of his experience. i agree, law enforcement has evolved. if it was not for law-enforcement, dna would never have come about. they were the ones that drove it to get accepted in court. law enforcement is constantly looking for new and innovative ideas. we need credit every now and then for the things that we do that try to make the system better. host: next is edith in arkansas. democrats line. beary. good morning, mr.

of my 20andmother grandsons, and they were all raised in pasadena, california. grandmother,er and we have always worked in the community. i would say to any community, get involved. .e know our police officers i am back in arkansas now. i see a lot of things i don't like. i saw a lot of things in pasadena, but overall, we had a good police department. we had good cheese there. i go to city council meetings. >> afternoon, everybody. tgif. a couple of quick things at the top. the first is you may have seen the news today that nasa

successfully completed their test flight of the orion spacecraft. this is a new dawn -- well, this chapter in of a new space exploration. certainly an important milestone in achieving president obama's vision of sending humans onto an asteroid by 2020 and onto mars the decade after. everyone here sends our congratulations to the men and women of nasa and other commercial partners for this successful launch and we look for to future milestones. the second thing is scheduling updates. on monday, the president will host at the white house since william, the duke of cambridge, in the oval office. the vice president and dr. biden will also host a second -- separate meeting at the white house. travel ins will

december 2 will deliver remarks at world bank. the president welcomes the princes work in this global fight against what is a national security threat and a devastating environmental problem. support of the president's executive order and in conjunction with efforts at the london conference on the illegal wildlife trade, which the duke of cambridge attended, the administration announced its own strategy for combating wildlife trafficking. mobilizes the entire government to combat this. this will be the duke's first visit to washington, d.c. the president looks forward to by hospitality shown to them their recent visit to the united kingdom. this visit underscores the special relationship between the united states and the united kingdom. duchess is not planning to travel to washington.

with that, try to follow that up. can you give us a sense of what kind of conversations the president and his nominee had today? was he looking for a change in direction that the defense department? talk about islamic state, russia, anything you could tell us? >> i don't believe they had a detailed discussion in advance to today's event. as the president alluded to in his remarks, the president has had a number of conversations with mr. carter in the context of his previous services as deputy secretary of defense. the president certainly intends carter'slosely on mr. advice and ask for cheese on a range of areas. his strategic thinking will be very valuable as we consider the range of threats that are facing this country. the president is looking forward

to mr. carter receiving careful consideration by the united states senate and also swift cup -- approval. >> [inaudible] >> we talked over the last couple of weeks about the president's decision that new leadership was needed at the pentagon even the challenges that secretary hagel has managed quite well are challenges that will endure and will continue to confront this country and the next secretary of defense as well. so the president is looking forward to having somebody with mr. carter's experience and evident talents to confront these challenges, and to lead this large department as they guarantee the protection of the american people. >> on ferguson, i saw the president did an interview with bt. can you tell us why he wanted to

do that, and also give us an update on the timeline for any sort of executive order that he may need? not beennterview has conducted yet, it will be this afternoon. it's an opportunity to reach an audience that has been closely watching events in ferguson, missouri as well as recent events in new york city as well. it's an opportunity for the president to deliver a message that, i think too many of you, will sound pretty familiar. it's an opportunity to reach an audience that obviously has been following these developments closely and has pretty strong feelings about it. i think there are a lot of americans who feel strongly about some of these issues but certainly we would anticipate the viewers would have some strong feelings. it's a good opportunity for the president to make sure that they

understand where he is coming from on this issue. >> executive action? >> no update on that at this time. is thetor landrieu, president planning to do anything with the election coming up this weekend, in support of her? >> i don't know of any political activities planned for the weekend. you have heard the president speak on previous occasions on senator landrieu's important independent leadership for the people of louisiana and here in the senate. i do not have anything that the president is planning in the next 24 hours in support of the campaign. >> what are we to take away from the fact that secretary hagel did not attend this morning? >> i saw the defense department put out a statement indicating that secretary hagel decided not to attend because he did not an eventistract from that was held to honor mr.

theer, his service to country, the new opportunity before him. that was a decision that secretary hagel made. decision that is respected by everyone here at the white house. secretary hagel put out a clear statement showing his support for mr. carter's nomination. for any additional questions about the secretary's casual, i would refer you to the department of defense. >> was he disappointed he did not come? >> i think he understood the sentiments that were made by the secretary of defense. he certainly appreciated those comments about mr. carter's nomination. >> did mr. hagel give him advance notice that he would not be coming? >> that is how we knew, yes. >> so we should not see this as a snub of any kind. secretary think that

hagel intended it that way. he is a strong supporter of the president decision to nominate mr. carter to this role. >> given it was announced that hagel would be attending ahead of time, clearly among the white house wanted him to be there? >> no doubt about it. >> the change that happened late then, was that a surprise to the president? characterize it as is a prize but a decision made by secretary hagel. he was very clear in his statement that he issued today that he strongly supports the president's decision to nominate mr. carter to succeed him at the department of defense. he, like the president, believes that mr. carter has all the qualifications necessary to confront the challenges that no one knows better than secretary hagel himself. mutualdescribe it as a decision, that there would be a change of leadership needed, but

it has not been explained why the change was necessary, especially because he went on to say that he could've done the job and it was not a problem that he had. a this is the result of number of conversations between the president and secretary of defense. those were conversations that were held with the two men in the room. any sort of account that i could provide would be second or third hand at best. secretary hagel is someone who has honorably served this country in a variety of roles. he is somebody who was willing serve his country overseas in combat. it is the thing that distinguishes him from every other secretary of defense. veterandecorated combat who are rose from the ranks of somebody who was fighting on the front lines of this country, to serving in the top job at the department of defense. that is a testament to secretary

hagel's talents, a testament to his love for this country, and a testament to his commitment for serving the people of this country, and that is service that the president was pleased to have the opportunity to pay tribute to a week or two ago. i'm confident the president will have additional opportunities to pay tribute to secretary hagel into his services to the country. been saidll that has about hagel's service by the white house, doesn't this strangeness of hagel being announced at the meeting and then not showing up -- doesn't that highlight the tension that has been reported on so much? i'm not sure there is anything that is clouded. i think everyone is pretty straightforward with whether what happened. with the exception of the detailed readout of what had been pretreating the commander in chief and eckert area of defense.

outcome of those conversations is something that has been discussed extensively by the president himself, by the secretary of defense, and certainly by me on a number of occasions. aboutk there is no doubt secretary hagel's commitment to the job that he has filled a very ably over the last two years. air is no doubting his commitment to serving this country. there is no doubting his strong support for ash carter to be in the secretary of defense. think that certainly is indicative of what continues to be a strong personal relationship between the president of the united states and secretary hagel. of [inaudible] >> i would not anticipate that any ongoing reviews would face a dramatic change as a result of

this new leadership in the building. for an update on the process i would refer you to the pentagon. >> you talk about an ongoing review but the pentagon says no order has been -- review has been ordered. >> we can try to get you more details if w you like. i do not know a whole lot about this. >> [inaudible] my understanding, and maybe i will be corrected on this, but either stand there is a review undergoing on this question. we can look into it further for you. britain, from whom we inherited the grand jury system, and dispensed of it many years ago because they found it ineffective and it obviously favors the prosecutor so much. do you think it is time for us to look at and have a review of our justice system and perhaps

consider getting rid of the grand jury system? >> let me make a couple of observations, the first is the grand jury proceedings that have attracted so much attention in i don't 10 days or so think they received attention because of efforts of the prosecutor were significantly advantaged in the context of those proceedings. i think the concern was becausey something else , ostensibly, you have prosecutors making the case for an indictment that was not handed down by the grand jury. >> [inaudible] grand jury proceedings are conducted in private so it is hard to tell. in terms of what their goal was, i would direct you to those prosecutors for what kind of case they were making. i'm not inclined and

not qualified to have a philosophical discussion about the basis of our legal system and how that has been translated over centuries. i am sure there is somebody at the department of justice that might be inclined to have a discussion with you, or not. you can certainly try. >> [inaudible] turn to the president and pledged candid strategic and military advice. a lot of people have noted that moment. is that something the president felt was lacking before? my previous comments about secretary hagel, even in the president's comments about secretary hagel 10 days ago in the state dining room, he talked about how he had relied on secretary hagel's advice as they confronted a wide range of national security challenges. certainly, the president expects , not only from the secretary of defense, but every member of his national security team, direct, unvarnished advice based on that

individuals expertise. >> was he getting that under secretary hagel? the president was pretty clear, and i have been, that the president appreciated the kind of candor and advice he received from secretary hagel during his two years of serving as secretary of defense. >> some republican lawmakers have noted this is his fourth defense secretary in six years. they have argued that creates a sense of unsteadiness. can you speak to that, is there concern that changing defense secretary so frequently, in some ways, destabilizes the agency? >> i don't think there is any evidence to support that claim. the president is very pleased with service and leadership and advice he has received from each of the taliban who have served his country as secretary of defense during the president's administration. we anticipate that mr. carter

will continue in the footsteps of those that have come before him in terms of offering the president the kind of insight and strategic exit -- advice that he relies on and certainly expects from his secretary of defense. the military, senator gillibrand is considering reducing a bill that would take military sexual assaults out of the chain of command. last time the bills up for vote, president obama did not weigh in on it. at this cycle, which he supported? >> we would want to look carefully at the legislation she decides to propose. >> would you support the broader idea of taking military sexual sold out of the chain of command? >> what he supports is making sure that there is keen awareness at the department of defense, that the commander in chief will not tolerate the kind -- the scourge of sexual assaults that we have seen in the media over the last few years.

the president said it himself, that even one sexual assault in the greatest fighting force in the world is something that the commander in chief will not tolerate. the president made a very clear to the civilian and military leadership at the pentagon. we did recently see that the department of defense conducted what is at least a lengthy review of the way that sexual assault cases are handled inside the military. that is a review that is being carefully analyzed here at the white house. something from yesterday, i saw the president did see the eric garner video, the take down by police. what was his reaction? >> i did not have the chance to speak to him directly. we did this electronically. while i'm able to confirm that he has seen the video, i have not spoken to him about his reaction. >> reaction to the

non-indictment? >> i think you heard from him a couple of times discussing this. i would not elaborate too much on what he has already said about it. ferguson, he came out here and said this was the grand jury's decision to make. would that apply to this case as well? >> certainly in a legal matter. as somebody who is not particularly credentialed when it comes to legal matters, as a legal matter, the decision that was handed down by the grand jury is consistent with the legal process. what is also true of the legal process is that it is now subject to an investigation by federal attorneys, both in the eastern district of new york as well as the civil rights commission of the u.s. department of justice. >> so many people were just shocked that this case ended up without an indictment with that video, seemingly so obvious to

anyone that saw it. did the president have a similar shock? again, i have not had a specific conversation about his reaction to the video or the immediate decision, beyond what he said in public. >> two other quick things. made a comment in an interview before the meeting isis is effort against world war iii. i wonder what the president thinks of the characterization? i think what i would say about that is that the united states has played in a leading role in building a broad international coalition to confront, degrade, and becausely destroy isil of the threat it poses to a number of countries in the region, the threat it could pose , if it were allowed

to establish the safe haven in iraq and syria. to the extent that you have the world united alongside the united states in standing up , youst these extremists certainly have a global element here. it is a threat that the president takes seriously, obviously a threat that our close partners in jordan take seriously because this is happening right in their neighborhood. -- mccain has devoted significant resources and energy to ensuring the humanitarian needs of those who are fleeing the violence have been met. many have fled to jordan. that has pose a significant to that country. the united states -- and this is one of the announcements from the meeting today -- is committing additional resources to help the jordanians respond to this urgent humanitarian situation. i think it's indicative of the role the united states can play

in supporting our partners as they deal with is very difficult situation. >> one last item, following up on the mitch mcconnell to that . obviously an afternoon meeting. there was no bourbon served to justify on the president's statement after the election that he would look forward to having a bourbon with mitch mcconnell, is that going to happen? >> i'm confident that will happen. we will try to give you a heads up when it does. this is about the governors meeting today. i know the white house has said that they want to try to develop specific partnerships. can you give me a sense, if there is going to be anything specific in mind when the governors are talked to, and just a flavor for -- it seems like school for new governors day. can you give us a flavor of what you might see, any concrete plans out there, and how were the governors selected? >> the first impression we would

like to leave is that this white house and administration more broadly has a strong interest in working with governors across the country to expand economic opportunity for middle-class families. presidentmething the has laid out as a top item on his domestic agenda. he has tried to work with congress to make progress on that goal. we have seen there is opportunity to make significant progress by working directly with governors. this is a group of newly elected governors and we certainly want to build the same kind of strong working relationship with them as well. there there are many governors in both parties who have been committed to making important investment in high-quality early childhood education programs. we certainly will look for opportunities to partner with governors across the country to make those kinds of investments.

we have been gratified over the last year and a half or so to see a number of states take action to raise their minimum wage. this is something the president has urged congress to do. we have seen congressional republicans block efforts to raise the minimum wage, but we have seen states take action to raise the minimum wage and give their workers a raise there. supported those efforts. there are a lot of equities as it relates to the affordable care act. there's an opportunity for at least some of these states to byvide health insurance expanding medicaid to a large number of citizens in their state. this is health insurance that would be at least for this year paid 100% by the federal government. at no cost to the governors or citizens of the states, the federal government for this year would be in a position to provide important health care benefits for them.

what governors know all too well is that individuals who would qualify for expanded medicare present himself at the hospital in dire need of medical attention. that medical attention is provided. the state is ultimately on the hook for providing that medical assistance in the least cost effective fashion possible. there is an opportunity for us to lower cost for states and for the federal government to get involved in helping states as they try to meet the needs of working people in their states. about, a lot to talk lot on the agenda. there's an opportunity for not just the president and the governors, but there are other senior white house officials they will be meeting with. >> you talked in broad terms.

if you can think of something -- each of these states have different stages in their medicaid program. could you tell me how these were selected? i believe all the newly elected governors were invited to the white house and these were the ones who were able to attend to that. it was early this morning, but did the president watch any of the orion launch? >> i don't know if he had the opportunity to see it. >> this is the first time in over 40 years that nasa satellite or any satellite on a planet has left lower orbit. nasa scientists say this is the biggest thing since they apollo program. is this something the president is excited about? >> it does reflect the enthusiasm and excitement that everybody here at the white house feels.

i'm confident the president shares that enthusiasm and excitement for this significant achievement. >> the president wants to focus on stem achievement for students. ambassador toter a student's ambition than the world's greatest space program? could there be more attention from the white house on this issue? >> we welcome all the attention that is shown to this achievement. the president himself has talked about how he was inspired as a kid from some of the innovations and achievements of the space program when he was a kid. i talked before about having watched it on television as the astronauts were recovered from the cap shoals that had returned to earth in splashdown's -- capsules that had returned to earth in splashdowns. this is something that we are pretty excited about, and it is

a testament to the successful strategy the president has put in place for our space program. we look forward to even more exciting results in the years ahead. [inaudible] >> a couple things. we are still waiting to see the details included in the budget that isl -- proposal supported by house republicans. there have been a number of conversations between white house officials and administration officials with members and staff on capitol hill in both the house and senate. the second thing i'll say is that we do continue to believe it is the responsibility of congress to pass a full year budget for the full federal government. that is what congress is responsible for doing.

there are a lot of americans who on this cold and cloudy friday got out of bed early and went to work because it was their responsibility to do so. we certainly would expect -- more importantly, they expect their representatives in congress to do the same thing. what we are expecting congress to do is get out of bed early this morning, soldier through the cold and the gray and take action to pass a full-year budget for the full federal government. is the president going to veto whatever they produce? not come prepared to issue a new veto threat. i did come today to make clear that our strong preference is for congress to do only what they are supposed to do, and full-year pass a

budget for the full federal government. at the same time, we will consider what kinds of proposals are passed through the house and senate. we will reserve judgment on them. it is clear what basic responsibility congress has, and we hope they will take action to fulfill it. >> to follow-up on the question there are avernors, range of governors who are concerned about the president's immigration action in the context of their own budget. will the president be able to outline to those governors who are concerned about the budgetary impact of executive action why he feels strongly that this will all work out or that the federal government [indiscernible] or how may he respond to questions he may get about that? >> i'm not aware of any significant or negative budgetary impact on states as a result of the executive action the president announced a couple of weeks ago. includede key reforms in these executive actions was an extensive overhaul.

a secureplacement of communities program. this was part of an effort to try to strengthen the working relationship between local law enforcement communities in the federal government, and that it remove some red tape and make it easier for local law enforcement and the federal government to coordinate their efforts, protect communities, large and small across the country. that is one example of how the president's executive action will actually make it easier for the federal government and local law enforcement. >> can you give us the specifics on the increase in age? what are the details? >> we will have more details in the fact sheet that is out later today. what the president did announce was a commitment both in terms

of resources to help jordan manage the humanitarian situation in their country. anelieve there was announcement related to additional economic assistance that will be provided to our partners in jordan. the king has been a pretty strong advocate of economic and political reforms in his country. he deserves a lot of credit for that. the united states wants to be supportive of those ongoing reform efforts. that is one way we can support those efforts. [inaudible] >> i don't know the funding details. we can get back to you on that. >> related to the comparison [indiscernible] he said this is a generational issue. the president talked about tectonic plates shifting in the middle east. the larger conversation seems to be different -- to be between these two leaders, about something that is many decades in duration. king abdulla says this transformation in the middle east is about jihad itself.

do you want to elaborate? >> a couple of things come to mind. are 60son there countries that have joined this coalition the president is that countries throughout the region and across the world understand the significance takes of this conflict. i don't think there's anybody attempting to downplay them. before this even more recent rise of isil that the broader middle east is working through some very tumultuous issues, and the impact on their society and on governments across the region have been significant. these are the kinds of issues that the people who live in this region of the world won't resolve overnight. it's going to take some time for them to make some decisions about what kind of government they want to have in their country, how they want to exercise their preferences about

that government, what kind of economic opportunity will be available to them, about how basic human rights are going to be protected, and that has prompted a lot of questions and a lot of soul-searching not just among leaders in that broader region, but also among people on the street. those kinds of conversations and considerations about what kind of country or what kind of society they want to be a part of are important. and sometimes they can be tumultuous, but what the president has tried to do is to be very keenly focused on understanding that even in these , that we need to be focused squarely on the national security interest of the united states. dynamic, rapidly

changing times, that can require some nimbleness. that is evident in some of the policymaking you have seen from the president. it certainly is part of the flexible strategy the president has pursued. it also is why we have worked so hard to make sure that we are working closely with partners in the region to align our with them and with other countries around the world. that is why building this coalition to confront, degrade and ultimately destroy isil is so important. that is why it is so important that members of the coalition are in fact arab countries. we have seen countries like jordan joined the united states in bombing isil targets in syria. that reflects the commitment the president has to working closely with leaders in the region to align our interests, and to get

other countries to act with us in pursuit of those interests. >> even those favorably inclined towards ashton carter would say he doesn't have now and never has had any expertise on some of in thenderlying issues region, militarily or diplomatically. why was it a good idea, why is it a good idea to continue that vacuum within the civilian pentagon leadership? have ismr. carter does a lot of experience in thinking strategically about how to orient the department of defense in a way that ensures it is properly positioned to protect the national security interests of the united states. that is something he has spent a lot of time thinking about. we are going to continue to have experience --they are useful intelligence channels that ensure a strong relationship between the united states and our partners in the region and around the world, and i would the presidentt --

does have complete confidence in mr. carter possibility to fulfill the responsibilities to the secretary of defense, build a strong military to military relationship with our partners and allies around the world as well. he is somebody who knows the building inside and out. he is someone who has a key understanding of how to orient the posture of the department of the department of defense to best protect the american people. that is why build -- why we believe he's the best person for the job. >> ok. along those lines, someone like senator mccain will be overseeing confirmation hearings is saying nice things about ashton carter's essentials, but claiming that rabia's defense secretaries have not been able to crack the president's inner circle, that defense policy is really run here inside the white house and the defense secretaries have been railroaded. how do you answer that? >> the president is proud of the leadership and advice he

received from the men who served as secretary of defense under his presidency. the president will rely on the expertise of carter the same way he relied on the advice of secretary gates, panetta and hagel. >> it it not seem that secretary gates and secretary panetta thought that influence was looked at. i think to a person, secretary gates, secretary panetta and secretary hagel would echo that sentiment. assuranceser had any from the president about his personal access, one-on-one, to the commander-in-chief? -- mr.etary carter carter is somebody who will be afforded the privilege that

previous defense secretaries have had, which is a weekly meeting with the president in the oval office. that is extensive access. when those secretaries of defense communicate with the president outside of that weekly meeting, the president has been responsive to their communications. >> yesterday some questions about the american journalist who is being held by terrorists in yemen. questions youe were asked whether there were delays. i understood you said yesterday some of this is still classified. since then, there have been reports [indiscernible] was it hesitation inside the white house to move forward, or were there problems him a gap's in the intelligence that justifies waiting? there are still some significant limits on what i can say about what is still classified operation. the i would reject in strongest possible terms is

there was any delay at the white house in approving this mission. once the intelligence and the concept of operations had been developed by military planners and approved by the secretary of defense, it was forwarded to the white house. it did go through an interagency process that was as rigorous as you would expect it would be. there was careful consideration about the risk this operation would put -- would pose for our men and women in uniform. there was careful consideration of the intelligence. there was careful consideration of a kind of diplomatic equities that are involved. there are important questions raised when an operation like this is taking place in a foreign country. there are important diplomatic questions that are raised when there is the potential that some of those who may be rescued are of a different nationality. there are important equities raised when it comes to either

killing or even capturing extremists. thinking through all of those things is something that is important, consistent with the way the process worked in previous administrations, as something that only involves defense, intelligence, diplomatic channels, and others. there's careful interagency consideration given to this plan after it was signed off on by the secretary of defense. it was something that was approved by the commander-in-chief after that review in much less than 48 hours. thehere were reports that administration is considering sanctioning israel over the settlements issue. i wonder if you could say true or false. i have been informed of some of these reports. what i can tell you is i'm not going to talk about any sort of internal deliberations inside the administration and certainly

not inside the white house. i will say something i have said many times before, which is that israel is a close and strategic partner of the united states. i don't need to remind you of the strong and unshakable bonds that exist between the united states and israel. inglynited states' exceed to thecommitment security of israel. we have also been crystal clear about our view of settlement activity. that view has not changed. we believe settlements are illegitimate, and we have deep concerns about highly contentious planning and construction activities that the israeli government is pursuing in east jerusalem and the west bank. we believe those activities are counterproductive. we made those views clear in public. we made those views clear in private. >> you are not denying that sanctions or on the truck -- are on the table. am not denying we have strong concerns about that settlement activity. it has not and will not affect the united states' strong

commitment to the national security of israel. the same time you're considering sanctions against an ally in israel. going to comment on those reports about our discussions as it relates to israel. >> you're leaving the door wide open here. you're not considering sanctions? >> i'm not willing to talk about those kinds of conversations. we have been clear about what our strategy is against iran. there is a historically tough sanctions regime in place against iran. inse sanctions that were put place by congress and implemented by this administration have been effective, both in terms of exacting a heavy toll on the iranian economy. we have seen their economic , been significantly negatively affected by this. we have seen significant decline in the value of their currency. we do believe that while

productive talks continue, it would be unwise to put in place additional sanctions on iran only because of the success of that sanctions regime depends upon the ability and willingness of our partners around the globe to enforce the sanctions regime. lot of not a whole business conducted between the united states and iran directly. we are relying on other countries that do more business with iran to abide by the sanctions regime. so far we have gotten that international buy-in that has prompted the iranian leadership to come to the negotiating table to try to resolve the international community's concerns about their nuclear program. we have been clear about what our strategy is as it relates to iran. i'm less willing to talk about internal conversations about israel. mike? >> [indiscernible] the jobs report today -- >> i thought you would never ask. [laughter] >> 321,000 jobs.

data thatf economic shows the strengthening economy. investors seem to like it. americans remain deeply dissatisfied with the economy. do you think that is partly because the administration has failed to sell this to americans? is it partly the administration's fault that americans feel unhappy with the economy at this point? how does the administration [indiscernible] on to that? >> today's job report will have impact on the public perception of the economy, as it should. there are a lot of numbers included in this report to has not the economy just made a lot of progress in recovering from the worst economic downturn since the great depression, but that progress is starting to accelerate. that is true whether you measure the number of jobs created or

even in this instance, that the strength included in the [indiscernible] number is cause for up to miss him. not just for people in this building, but also for working people across the country. we have now had 10 consecutive jobss of more than 200,000 created. that is the longest streak we have seen in 20 years. that is a testament to how sustained this economic strength is. the other thing that is notable about this is we have actually experienced more job growth in the last 11 months than we have in any year since 1999. the strength we are exhibiting and is significant, particularly as it relates to the kinds of economic projections that have been in place over the last few years. as it relates to public appraisal of the economy, i

think you heard from the president directly in the roosevelt room's a couple hours ago that there is more work that needs to be done to make sure that middle-class families are benefiting from our strengthening recovery. metrics toome indicate they are benefiting from it as much, that there are corporate profits are at an all-time high, the stock market continues to improve. we certainly welcome those signs of strength. we want to make sure that working folks are experiencing those benefits to. the focalnues to be point of the president's policymaking agenda. request,ministration's does that include more money for the imf? last time you did not get it. are you pushing for it this time? >> it's my understanding that

the obama administration continues to be strongly supportive of congress acting on proposed imf reforms that would significantly expand the financial contribution the united states is able to make to the imf and development efforts without a significant increase --the kind of budgetary without significant increase in budgetary impact. [inaudible] we continue to be strongly supportive of the idea that congress should act on these reforms to the imf. these are reforms the united states originally proposed. we have seen countries around the world adopt them. failing to adopt them has had an influencethe kind of that we exercise in that multilateral body. we certainly would like for congress to take action. >> ok. mark? >> president obama went out to dinner last night.

it was not told who he was having dinner with. why is that? >> i don't have a full list. i know there were some members of his staff and friends who happened to be in town. was not a working dinner. this was a social dinner. >> ok. can you get the list for us? >> i don't know -- if there are a couple names -- >> transparency. >> i know you are a leading advocate. i will look and see if we can get you some names. [inaudible] >> the point is that they weren't doing business there. it was purely a social occasion. >> it is widely expected the senate intelligence committee will unveil its report on enhanced interrogation techniques next week. in advance of its release, has the president been given a copy of the report? the president has long

advocated the declassified release of this report. we certainly welcome the news from the committee that they're planning to do so next week. the white house has been working closely with the committee and with the intelligence community to resolve some of the differences that have cropped up and are in the process of declassifying that report. the president is certainly aware of that report. he was able to be briefed on the classified version, and the president continues to believe he has articulated himself many times that it's important for transparent,o be at least as transparent as possible when we are talking about classified programs about what occurred. we certainly welcome the news that the committee is preparing to release these reports. >> what is the level of

expectation building ahead of the visit by prince william? enthusiasm. lot of we certainly are looking forward to toasting him here in washington and at the white house for the first time. had theident has opportunity to visit with prince william on a couple of other occasions. i alluded to my opening statement that the president, first lady had the opportunity to visit with the duke and duchess when the president and first lady were in london for a state visit. the president also had an opportunity this summer at the 70th anniversary of d-day to visit briefly with prince william there as well. thepresident has had opportunity to meet him a couple times. the president has enjoyed those previous conversations and is really looking forward to monday's conversation. john, last one. the imfentioned

reforms. it would seem the talking to members of congress -- this has been sitting in congress for four years, and the president and managing director repeatedly call for action on it. on attitude, particularly the republican side, seems the opposite. not only do they criticize the reforms, but they talk about rescinding the extra $100 billion that congress voted above what it regularly gives. that was in 2009. a couple years ago this measured 100 co-sponsors in the house. senator duncan of tennessee has talked about reintroducing it right -- it. what are your feelings about the attitude of members which seem to be going in the opposite direction? >> the white house and the administration and president have been very clear about how important these imf reforms are. many of the people you described who are -- who opposed imf

reforms are the same people who are suggesting we do more to support the people of ukraine. certainly the imf played an important role in offering economic assistance to the people of ukraine, and more assistance could be provided if the imf had access to greater resources. the imf would have greater access to resources if congress would follow through with passing these imf reforms. open and shut case, and we are hopeful that congress will do the right thing here and act on those imf reforms. >> let's do the week ahead before we go. on monday, we mentioned what i think will be the highlight of an eventful week, the visit of prince william to the white house. in the afternoon on monday, the president will take an interview withhe colbert report stephen colbert at george washington university. [inaudible]